Notes: The Australian Army began using the
M-113A1 in the mid-1960s; they first used them in Vietnam as part of the small
Allied force that was helping the US effort in the Vietnam War. Early
Australian M-113A1s were stock, but were quickly outfitted in a manner similar
to ACAVs (an M-2HB surrounded by a light armor shield, and a pair of M-60
machineguns on either side of the passenger compartment deck hatch equipped with
gun shields to the front). However, soon
after the Australian Army began operating in Vietnam, they began modifying
their M-113A1s to better suit conditions, improve firepower, and improve crew
and passenger protection. For budgetary
reasons, the Australians stayed with the M-113A1 version as a base design; many
Australian troops also felt that the M-113A1 was good enough for their purposes
and that buying the M-113A2 version was unnecessary. However, later Australian upgrades have made
the base M-113A1s into vehicles that are in most cases better than the M-113A2
and with later upgrades, better than the M-113A3.

Australian soldiers were at first
ambivalent about the M-113A1. But their
philosophy is best summed up in the words of one trooper, who said, “A
second-class ride is better than a first-class walk.”

Standard M-113A1s

The stock version of the M-113A1 and the
M-113A1 ACAV’s statistics and some of the information about them is repeated
below from the US Tracked APCs page.
Some of these vehicles also received a “belly armor” upgrade, similar to
the added hull floor armor used on some US M-113s. The engine chosen for the M-113A1 was a
slightly modified form of the General Motors 6V53 diesel, which developed 215
horsepower (slightly more powerful than US M-113A1s, which had 212 horsepower);
the transmission of the M-113A1 is also matched to the engine. The different
engine and transmission gives the Australian M-113A1 much better speed than the
US version. The M-113A1 has an integrated transmission and power pack. The driver operates the vehicle with tillers
and a gas pedal; braking is done by pulling back on both tillers at the same
time, while steering is done by pulling on one or the other tiller to brake either the left or right sprocket and final
drive. The driver also has a couple of
handles above and in front of the tillers; these are pivot steer handles, and
allow the M-113A1 to turn in place. The transmission is automatic. The fuel tanks are in the walls of the
passenger compartment, inside the armor envelope. Australian M-113A1s has a crew compartment
heater as well as a battery pre-heater.
The forward vision block can be removed and replaced with an IR vision
block; this device is normally strapped on the wall on the left side of the
driver, and can only be used if the driver lowers his seat to be completely
under armor.

The Australians quickly added an ACAV-type
configuration; unlike early US M-113 ACAVs, the Australians largely used a
purpose-built kit manufactured in Australia.
The commander’s M-2HB machinegun is surrounded by gun shields, which are
slightly heavier than those put on US M-113 ACAVs (but unfortunately cannot be
reflected by Twilight 2000 v2.2
rules; it would translate out to an AV of about 2.3). The gun shields for the M-60s mounted on
either side of the passenger compartment hull deck hatch protect against hits
from the front of the gun only and have an AV of 2.

Some Australian M-113A1s were equipped
with extra hull floor armor, which adds 2 points of armor to the floor of the
M-113A1. These were usually not added to other Australian M-113A1 versions, to
hold down weight. The Australians also
followed the lead of some US units by lining the floor of the passenger
compartment with sandbags.

The M-113A1 APC/LRV

The APC/LRC (LRV for Light Reconnaissance
Vehicle) first appeared in the late 1960s.
The APC/LRV is a standard M-113A1, but modified with the addition of a
one-man Cadillac Gage T50 turret, similar to that mounted on the V-150 Commando
Armored Car. This small turret has a
hatch on top and is armed with one heavy and one medium machinegun. The primary motivation behind the APC/LRV was
to afford the commander better protection; the increase in firepower from the
commander’s position was an incidental benefit.
The turret does take up a bit of room normally given over to passenger
seats, reducing the amount of infantrymen or equipment that can be carried in
the rear. The T50 turret does not
provide any night vision or enhanced vision capabilities for the commander, but
it does have several vision ports and blocks.
As with earlier versions of the M-113A1, additional belly armor was
sometimes fitted to the APC/LRV. The
Viet Cong referred to this variant of the M-113A1 as the “Green Dragon” in the
Vietnam War, as they were sometimes beefed up with additional weapons around
the rear passenger hatch, making the APC/LRV into sort of an “ACAV Plus.”

The M-113A1 FSV

The FSV (Fire Support Vehicle) was at the
outset designed to be an interim vehicle designed to provide heavy backup to
Australian infantry, with a secondary role as a scout vehicle. It was replaced
in the late 1970s by the M-113A1 MRV (below). The Australians had begun
withdrawing their British-designed Saladin scout cars from active service in
the mid-1960s, and some of the turrets of the Saladins
were mounted on M-113A1s. This gave the
M-113A1 a 76mm medium-velocity gun with its coaxial machinegun and another
machinegun mounted on a pintle at the commander’s hatch. Though the turret and ammunition for the main
gun takes up most of the room in the former passenger space, there is room for
a small dismount squad. The FSV retained
its amphibious capability, but only because of Styrofoam blocks and air space
enclosed by light aluminum sheet that were attached to each side of the hull
and the trim vane. Australian troops referred to the FSV as “The Beast.” Some
15 FSVs are still in working order (if not in service) in Australia. Added belly armor was generally not employed,
as the weight would have been very detrimental to performance.

The M-113A1 Recoilless Rifle Carrier

The Recoilless Rifle Carrier variant of
the M-113A1 was another interim vehicle, designed to supplement the FSV as a
fire support vehicle. It was a simple
modification; am M-40A2 106mm Recoilless Rifle was mounted to left and slightly
to the rear of the commander’s station, and manned by a crew that stood in the
hatch on the rear hull deck. The
on-board ammunition was a modified Carl Gustav M-2 ammunition box (typically
plywood with thin sheet aluminum sides), but most crews of these vehicles
carried more boxes of ammunition in the passenger area. As with the FSV, the Recoilless Rifle carrier
could carry a small dismount squad, but generally didn’t, to allow more
ammunition to be carried. The M-2HB
machinegun at the commander’s cupola was retained. As they were stopgap vehicles, they were
withdrawn from service soon after the Australians left the Vietnam War.

The M-113A1 MRV

After the Vietnam War, the Australians did
not get rid of their M-113A1s; in fact, they continued to modify and improve
them (and heavily-modified versions are still in service today). As the FSV was always considered an interim
version, a new version was fielded by the Australian Army in the late
1970s. It was essentially the same idea
as the FSV, but used the turret of the Scorpion instead of the Saracen’s
turret. The Scorpion turret used the
same caliber gun, but fired its ammunition at a higher velocity. At first called the M-113A1 FSC (Scorpion
Turret), the name was later changed to the MRV (Medium Reconnaissance Vehicle,
reflecting its intended primary role as a scout vehicle than simply an infantry
support vehicle. Other than the more
powerful main gun, the Scorpion turret offered night vision for the gunner and
commander, radiological shielding for the turret, more space for radios, and a
laser rangefinder/ballistic computer combination. The MRV also has a collective NBC system for
the crew. The MRV can also carry a small
dismount squad. Though the turret is not
heavily armored, some appliqué armor has been added to the hull. As with the FSV, the MRV requires flotation
cells to be added to the sides and a special trim vane in order to swim, but it
otherwise retains the amphibious capability. Suspension upgrades, engine
upgrades, and some other improvements made for a lighter vehicle than the FSV,
with an attendant slight increase in speed, maneuverability, and fuel economy.

MRVs were later given upgraded armor on
the hull floor by adding titanium plates to the underside of the vehicle. This had a similar to the Vietnam-era belly
armor upgrades, but was lighter in weight.

The LAND 106 Project

As early as the mid-1980s, the Australian
Army sought to upgrade their still-useful M-113A1s to a more modern
configuration. They did not feel that
outright replacement was necessary; most of their M-113A1 fleet had been
well-taken care of and was still quite serviceable. Unfortunately, the projected upgrade program
ended up scuttled due to lack of funds, and the M-113A1-based fleet continued
to soldier on only with what money was needed to keep the fleet going.

In 1996, the issue of upgrading the
M-113A1-based fleet was again taken up by the Australian government. By this point, the Australian Army had 520
M-113A1-based vehicles of all types.
This led to the LAND 106 project, which aimed to perform major upgrades
on 350 M-113A1-based vehicles, provide less-comprehensive upgrades on about 50
more, and produce some 50 more vehicles that would be essentially new-build
vehicles. Other M-113A1s would be simply
rebuilt to extend their useful lifetimes. Much haggling ensued, with little
more than prototype and drawing-board work being done; it seemed for a while
that LAND 106 would also fall by the wayside.
However, in 2007, the Australian Army finally received the funding it
needed, and upgrade work began in earnest in 2007; this work is estimated to be
finished between 2010-2013. Though a little of a
budgetary hiccup occurred in 2008, the LAND 106 project is now back on track.
When finished, the resulting vehicles will mostly be equivalent in capability
to the M-113A3, and more. The overall
series description for the most-upgraded variants is the M-113AS series. Complete prototypes appeared in 2004,
Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) began in December of 2007, in order to
conduct field testing; Full-Rate Production began in 2007, with initial
deliveries beginning in November of 2007. 431 vehicles are scheduled for major
upgrades, an additional 81 vehicles scheduled for lesser upgrades. The upgrades are projected to keep the
M-113A1-based fleet viable until at least 2020.

General Upgrade Characteristics

The most comprehensive upgrades are to be
done on the basic M-113A1 design. Though work is being simultaneously carried
out on several different upgraded versions, work started on the vehicle that
would be called the M-113AS4. The
M-113AS upgrades the engine, transmission, driver controls, and armor, and also
adds some new bells and whistles.

The M-113AS is equipped with a
280-horsepower turbocharged diesel engine, designed by MTU of Germany, and
conforming to EURO 3 standards for exhaust, efficiency, and environmental
concerns. This is coupled to an automatic transmission designed by Renk of Germany that maximizes the power of the
engine. The tracks and roadwheels are
also replaced by designs that make the track and roadwheels stronger and
lighter. The entire powerpack and drive train are lighter, more compact, and
more reliable. The suspension itself is also improved for a better ride and
off-round performance. The driver’s control tillers and gas pedal are replaced
by a steering yoke and a conventional brake and gas pedal, though it is of more
ergonomic design than those of the M-113A3.
The pivot steering capability is retained. The M-113AS has additional protection in the
form of aluminum and steel appliqué armor, with titanium plate reinforcement
for the hull floor. The interior of the
M-113AS also has additional protection, including a Kevlar anti-spall
liner. One constant complaint of M-113A1
crews was vibration and noise (I can tell you from experience that both are
extreme). This problem has been
partially solved with mats made from a special rubber compound that provides
both shock absorption and noise abatement.
The mats are designed to fit each variant precisely, allowing them to
stay in place with little fastening. The fuel tanks have been removed from the
passenger compartment walls, to either side of the rear hull. The amphibious requirement has been dropped.

An interesting feature added to the
M-113AS series is a water distillation
and purification unit, which can provide 20 liters per hour of drinking water
from local water sources, including salt water.

The Upgrades

The M-113AS4 may be considered the “base”
upgrade, though in many senses none are really the base, and most versions of
the M-113AS have been upgraded simultaneously.
The M-113AS4 is the basic APC variant, and the most numerous member of
the LAND 106 program. This version is a stretched model, with six roadwheels on
each side and 66.6cm of extra length.
Atop the M-113AS4 is a turret designed by Tenix
that is equipped with a heavy machinegun.
This provides much more protection than the previous commander’s
station, as well as much better vision equipment. The turret has electric
traverse and stabilization for its machinegun as well as an assist from a laser
rangefinder and a ballistic computer.

The M-113AS3 is essentially the same, but
is not stretched.

The remaining members of these large-scale
upgrades include a fitters vehicle, a light ARV, and a
mortar carrier. None of these will be
discussed in this section. However,
three other versions exist, all based on the M-113AS4: the M-113AS4-AA armored
ambulance, the M-113AS4-ACV armored command vehicle, and the M-113AS4-ALV
armored logistics vehicle.

These three variants of the M-113AS4 are
armed, but do not have the turret of the APC version of the M-113AS4. Instead, they have M-2HBs at the commander’s
station surrounded by gun shields. The
M-113AS4-AA can carry up to 4 stretcher-borne patients or up to 8 seated
patients. It has all the usual medical
supplies one might expect from an armored ambulance (the equivalent of 12
personal first aid kits and four doctor’s medical bags), but also has a
defibrillator, four oxygen sets to assist patients in breathing, a refrigerator
for perishable medical items, and a small heater to warm blankets and therefore
assist in treating hypothermia. The
M-113AS4-AA also has heating plates to cook warm meals or warm already-existing
foods, and warm liquids, and a 30-liter water tank.

The M-113AS4-ACV is equipped with up to six
radios (generally a mix of medium and long-range radios) and one
very-long-range AM-based radio. The
vehicle has map boards, various supplies to issue orders and plot movements, a
small-but-tough laptop computer, and-held observation devices (generally an
image intensifier and a thermal imager, a laser rangefinder, as well as several
pairs of binoculars), a small, 20-liter water tank, and various items for its
command vehicle role. The observation
devices are included in the price below, but not specifically listed.

The M-113AS4-ALV – well, it’s essentially
a large, armored, tracked truck, designed specifically to replenish troop
supplies at combat positions. As such,
the cargo area is basically wide open, though it does have lockers on the walls
to help keep supplies from flying around the interior while the vehicle is
moving. It does not have troop seats; it is essentially a large open space
surrounded by armor. It does, however,
have a small crane able to handle 2 tons to help load and offload supplies.

Some other M-113A1-based vehicles have had
a lesser array of upgrades; for example, some MRVs have had an engine upgrade,
along with a transmission change; some also have a modernized driver’s station. Some of the M-113A1-based vehicles now in
Australian service are simply not slated for any upgrades and will eventually
leave service.